organizelah some protest around your neighbourhood????

and forfeit the right to cari makan and try save enough to migrate? and get a one way ticket to Simpang Renggam detention centre or worse yet revoked citizenship for being unpatriotic in the eyes of those in power?

This is after all an autocratic sort of asian country. Criticism of any kind is branded as an act of a traitor against the country. An act of a thankless immigrant whos been granted the privilleage to cari makan as well as enrich "them".

Protests wont work in this country, at this point of time, in these circumstances. Things have got to be so rotten, and only then possibly will the mass rise up in numbers. Only then will the silent majority act. I'd probably be dead by then.

Come to think of it, when ruling party Ministers themselves dont have the right to present a memo to the PM, when ruling MPs cant even vote based on what is right and wrong, when civil servants are almost always the servant of such rulers and yet be little emperors in their own right, what chance has the normal men and women on the street have?

Getting people to rise now? Bloody hell. I cant even get people to voice opinions or present alternate views or criticize in academic and professional seminars ive organised or attended. A few months back, i even directly hit out at the attendees of a seminar on this "tidak-apa" attitude amongst us malaysians, and asians generally. 99% of the people are content to just listen and read and go back to their normal routine. And true enough, nobody reacted to my comments.(maybe they were pissed off by my comments)

And so, thats why i say, the discontent lot have to be content with waiting impatiently for the day when it gets rotten to the core, or die, whichever comes first, for things to possibly change for the better.

Why is Lelaki Komunis Terakhir banned in Malaysia?

First was the disappointing yet not surprising response by the PM on the Shahrir controversy. Vote along party lines, my foot. Its just an attempt to divert people's attention to the widespread misdeeds amongst the MPs.

and now...

Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist): Why is Lelaki Komunis Terakhir banned in Malaysia?: "Why is Lelaki Komunis Terakhir banned in Malaysia?"

For the past few years, as every day passes, my confidence in the future of this country reduces further..and further. The future is bleak. Am a pessimist in the midst of capitalist corrupt cronies. Perhaps the country has to get rotten to the core, before there will be "light at the end of the tunnel". There will be those screaming "leave if you dont like it", but unfortunately am not rich like those ruling fellas or their cronies. So, we suffer...and wait.

Shahrir supposedly resigns..

Its obvious, all the recent issues played up by the newspapers are nothing more then a smokescreen. To distract the public from the core problems. Petrol, Police.

Wonder whats next in the minds of the puppet masters.

The Gatal incident - Hansard transcript

Tuan Haji Abdul Fatah bin Haji Haron [Rantau Panjang]

Saya rasa ada peluang bagi saya untuk meminta penjelasan serta memberi penjelasan terhadap persoalan yang ditimbulkan suatu (sewaktu) soal jawab tadi oleh Yang Berhormat Menteri berkenaan dengan kenapakah wanita yang kehilangan suami hasil dari penceraian di tinggal begitu atau tidak diambil kira oleh masyarakat, sedangkan suami yang meninggal kerana kematian itu banyak simpati daripada orang ramai.

Apakah Yang Berhormat sedar sebahagian besar perempuan yang ditinggalkan oleh suami ini ada masalah yang menyebabkan berlaku penceraian. Satu. Yang keduanya apabila masyarakat melihat seorang perempuan yang ditinggalkan oleh suami sudah tentulah mereka ini ada sebab-sebab yang boleh dipertikaikan.

Kalau kita lihat di dalam majlis-majlis yang besar, perempuan yang ketiadaan suami hasil penceraian ini ada gatal sedikit. Tidak seperti yang kehilangan suami kerana kematian. Yang kematian ini, nampak dia insaf, sedih dan nampaklah air muka itu ada sedikit keimanan. Tetapi sebahagian besarnya, yang kehilangan suami hasil pencerian ini" kalau di dalam majlis-majlis, dia nampak gatal, sebab itu hilang simpati. Harap komen daripada Yang Berhormat."

blah blah blah from Shahrizat. Asks him to retract.

Abdul Fatah continues:

Saya sebut ini sebahagian besar, saya tidak kata seluruh. Bukan tuduh, sebahagian besar. Kalau tengok di majlis-majlis, katakanlah di party, private partu kalau kita tengok yang mana. Janda yang macam mana yang gatal, yang 'gelenyar', bahasa Kelantan. Kelantan kata 'gelenyar', bahasa persuratan gatal. Yang mana? Yang kematian suami ataupun yang diceraikan oleh suami. Sebahagian besarnya yang gatal itu ialah yang bercerai kerana sebab-sebab tertentu, samada si suami itu jahat ataupun si isteri itu ada masalah. Terima kasih.

Memartabatkan bahasa

Its a photo i took in December, but only now got to upload here.

Apresiasi???????????? Apresiasi puisi?????????? Appreciation. Please tell me there is no other word in the Malay language that conveys the meaning of appreciation.

The end of the crooked bridge saga

Been a bit busy of late, thus not responded to comments on my own blog. Well, here goes.

I tend to believe a bit of what TDM has stated. He has done his homework. We have the right to do as we please, and give 6 months notice, where water pipes are concerned. Even for railway line, as long as re-connection is done within a specified period, as per the related law/agreement, our assets at spore remain intact.

As for sand and airspace. Yeah, its possible some bolehlandputras aka umnoputras have a stake in the sand business and want to include that in. As for airspace, perhaps spore pushed for this from day one.

What do i make of all this crap thats been dumped on us by your incompetent and spineless Govt? I am beginning to suspect that PM wanted to use this as a smokescreen to divert people's attention away from the rising oil prices. Halt the bridge and save a billion ringgit.

Why give the go-ahead a few weeks earlier for bridge? So, GP can do a bit of work, and then claim RM100 million for work done aka compensation for project being cancelled.

PM probably didnt count on TDM coming out guns blazing.

The price we paid? The whole world got to see first hand how bad our politicians were in decision making, diplomacy and politics.

Remembering the past..

"Chatting, friendship, intimacy or for that matter almost any relationship, is a two way affair. When its almost always only one party making an effort, then over time that person is going to just decide to fade away, not in anger, but in disappointment."

"Life is a continuous process of new beginnings. The past is just that, the past. To be cherished or remembered or.... feared (vic - 2005)"

An extract : Farewell, MGG - Malaysiakini

I've since the late 1990s been following the late MGG's articles and the sang kancil site. They were enlightening. Here was someone who wrote what he thought,no holds-barred. No kowtowing, no posturing and ball carrying, so unlike the local print media. The following is a letter that was posted in the malaysiakini site. I thought i would keep a copy here for old times sake. Something to remind myself of the ideals of a person and how he went about fighting for his beliefs. The last line of the letter, is a gem.

He was from English College.

May God bless his soul.
Farewell, MGG - Malaysiakini: "Farewell, MGG
Jonathan Kent
Apr 28, 06 4:10pm

MGG Pillai was a kindred spirit for any journalist in Malaysia, whether local or foreign, who believes that our calling is to report without fear or favour and that, to quote the 19th century American journalist Finlay Peter Dunne; 'The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.'

MGG was a lion amongst Malaysian correspondents. I won’t say that he was without his quirks, nor would I claim that everything he wrote was entirely right. There were times when I fancy he misread the shadows from the ‘wayang kulit’ of Malaysian politics. But he was fearless, he was true to himself and his convictions and he did his damndest to bring the facts, as he saw them, to his readers.

He became, through his work, a living link to just about every actor of note in Malaysian public life since the country won its independence some 49 years ago. He would wistfully recall chatting with the Tunku at his official residence, sitting at dinner with Abdul Razak or Hussein Onn, or tussling with Mahathir Mohamad.

I last saw MGG a month or so ago. We sat together over dinner and he told me about his unfinished memoirs and shared some of the gems that would have made them glitter. Had he lived to finish them they would surely have been required reading for any student, not just of Malaysian history, but of the region’s history over the last 50 years because MGG was there to witness much of it not least as a Reuters reporter during the Vietnam war.

His death leaves us all the poorer, his friends, among whom I’d like to count myself, immeasurably sadder and young Malaysian journalists with one less redoubtable role model. His baton now passes to those braver spirits in the media who could pay the man no greater tribute than to try to fill his great shoes by making sure that none in power can both fail the people and count on a sound night’s sleep.

Rest in peace, MGG."

Guns come out blazing: Malaysian National News Agency :: BERNAMA

HEREWITH IS THE FULL TEXT OF TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD’S RESPONSE TO THE STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TAN SRI FUZI ABDUL RAZAK

YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s response to the statement by Ambassador-at-large Tan Sri Fuzi Abdul Razak



1. Tan Sri Fuzi’s rambling explanation about the Bridge over the Tebrau Straits on April 25, 2006, serves only to convince that the Government’s priority and intention is to sell sand to Singapore. If it is not allowed to do so then Malaysia will not get its bridge. The reasoning why the bridge cannot be built comes later and it was not convincing at all.

2. The Tan Sri, as a seasoned diplomat must know that treaties or agreements solemnly entered into by two countries, as are agreements between two parties can only be modified, changed or added to if both sides agree. If there is a dispute regarding the provision or interpretation of the agreement, then there should be arbitration or reference to courts. This is a part of International Law.

3. The provisions of the Wayleave Agreements are precise and clear. There is no specific provision for consulting and obtaining the necessary approval of Singapore for the relocation of the PUB water pipelines.

4. In case the Tan Sri has not read the Wayleave Agreement, I quote below the relevant paragraph; > > “That the Licensee (i.e. Singapore) shall take full responsibility financially or otherwise for any alteration to the pipeline that may become necessary by reason of any alteration or improvements made or to be made on the Johore Causeway and on receiving not less than six months previous notice in writing from the licensors (i.e. Malaysia) shall thereupon carry out the alteration in accordance with such notice and shall have no claim for any compensation.”

5. The provision is specific for the causeway. Singapore can claim it does not apply to pipes laid on land, (although the normal practice is to regard Wayleave Agreements to apply all the way) but it cannot claim that the Agreement does not apply to the Causeway. There can therefore be no reason for not complying with the Wayleave Agreement with regard to the causeway.

6. In fact there had been many alterations to the causeway and pipelines in the past without any objection by Singapore or Malaysia.

7. Because Singapore was unwilling to make a decision on building its side of the bridge to replace its side of the causeway, I informed Singapore that Malaysia intended to build a bridge on its side to land on a part of the causeway also on its side. The Singapore side of the causeway will not be touched. The connection will continue to be between the retained portion of the Johore Causeway and the Singapore half of the causeway.

8. The Singapore PM, Goh Chok Tong in his letter to me clearly stated that “ …… if you wish to proceed immediately to replace just your side of the Causeway with a bridge, I shall accept it, though I think this is not ideal.”

9. There was no condition attached to this acceptance, no mention of sand or airspace.

10. Although the exchange was in the form of letters, it was clear and recorded in writing that I proposed to build a bridge on the Malaysian side and the Singapore PM accepted it. Thus a unilateral decision became bilateral when Singapore acceded and accepted. Any change must similarly be agreed to by both sides.

11. For Singapore to add conditions more than two years later for the supply or 50 million cubic meters of sand for 20 years and to allow the Singapore Air Force to fly in Malaysian Air Space would constitute unilateral change. Malaysia can reject the new condition and insist on Singapore honouring the agreement between the two Prime Ministers.

12. It is the Malaysian Government, which tacitly agreed to the Singapore unilateral condition when it decided that it would not build the bridge because it is not in a position to supply sand or open its airspace because of opposition by Malaysians.

13. The proper thing to do if the Government wants to build the bridge would be to seek arbitration or refer to a court if Malaysia is uncertain as to the right of Singapore to impose new conditions unilaterally. Actually there is no need to doubt Malaysian rights in its own territorial waters. But the Government of Malaysia did not do its best to reject the condition. It gave in supposedly because the Malaysian legal authorities believe Singapore is in the right. It would be interesting to read the grounds for the A.G. to conclude that Singapore has what amounts to extra territorial rights and Malaysia has no sovereign right within its own territorial waters.

14. Talks about the possibility of Singapore refusing to allow the bridge to connect with the Singapore half of the causeway is sheer nonsense. The Malaysian bridge will land on the Malaysian portion of the causeway. The only way Singapore can prevent traffic from the bridge from passing through from the Malaysian portion of the Causeway into the Singapore half is to put a barrier across the causeway border. This would certainly constitute an unfriendly act. It would be Singapore cutting its nose to spite its face. The damage to Singapore businesses would be at least as bad as that which Malaysia may suffer. But in reality Singapore needs Malaysia more than Malaysian needs Singapore. We have our ports and airports to replace Singapore ports, airports and other services.

15. All in all it is clear that the Malaysian Government is more interested in selling sand to Singapore than to build the bridge. This keenness to sell sand is strange for Malaysia does not need the proceeds from sale of sand. Despite my alleged profligate ways when I was PM Malaysia is not so bankrupt that it has to depend on selling sand.

16. That any Malaysian leader should not shudder in horror at the idea of scraping ONE BILLION SQ. METERS from Malaysian sea-beds continuously over a period of 20 years, thereby destroying all the fish breeding grounds of Malaysian seas, depriving Malaysian fishermen of their livelihood, destroying Malaysia’s marine ecology defies the imagination. That there should be any Malaysian leader willing to entertain this idea, to destroy Malaysian seas to satisfy Singapore speaks badly of his love for his country.





Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

Round 2 is off the blocks. TDM looks good in this. Wonder what happens next.

This kind of stuff as usual almost always happens when there is a change of leadership, and the new fella starts dismantling or reversing decisions made by the previous guy.

I say we build the bridge BUT we issue an open international tender, and we see if it really costs more than RM1 billion!!!!!!

The perfect Butt

FOXNews.com - Academics Develop Formula for Perfect Butt

FOXNews.com - Academics Develop Formula for Perfect Butt - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment: "'The perfect female derriere has firmness to the touch and a resilience that prevents undue wobble or bounce, yet looks soft with flawless skin,' said Dr. David Holmes, a psychology lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, who devised the formula for measuring one's moons.

And the Rosetta Stone of bootyliciousness is: (S+C) x (B+F) / (T-V).

While it may look complicated, getting to the bottom of the formula is easy, Holmes insists.

First, a woman assesses her assets on a scale from 1 to 20 (1 being worst and 20 best) in the following categories:

* S = overall shape (a ripe peach being just about right)

* C = circularity (rounder is better)

* B = bounciness (less wobble is preferred)

* F = firmness (too much push to that cushion loses points)

* T = skin texture (no cellulite, please)

Then calculate this:

* V = the ratio of one's hips to waist. Finally, do the math.

While everyone may aspire to cans of J.Lo or Jessica Simpson proportions, balance is key to achieving the perfect score of approximately 80.

'Slender thighs and hip-to-waist ratio of 0.7 will frame the perfect bum, well, perfectly,' Holmes said.

'Kylie [Minogue] would score amazingly well on sphericality and symmetry. Her bottom is perfect in those categories, more so than the likes of . . . Jennifer Lopez, who has a more curvy posterior,' he said.

Interestingly, a poll of 2000 people across England found that while women sided with J. Lo's rump as the best, men preferred Minogue's.

But science really settles nothing, says booty expert Sir-Mix-A-Lot.

'They got to be juicy, round, with a little jiggle to it,' the 'Baby Got Back' rapper told The Post yesterday, laughing hysterically. 'The bubbliness does matter.'

But there's only one way to measure the most desirable derriere, he said.

"You know it when you see it," he said. "We could debate this all day."

Enlightening attempt to quantify what we normally assess based on personal taste and sight.